We did a little impromptu nature study yesterday. Temperatures have been in the single digits here in our corner of the world, so we managed to squeeze in this nature study without spending time outdoors. Although I’m a fan of Charlotte Mason methods, I have to confess that I’m not dedicated enough to her philosophy (that children should get outdoors every, single day) to actually go for a nature walk when it’s five degrees outside. (I like to remind myself that Miss Mason lived in England, rather than in the frigid American Midwest, and that even she would nod in agreement at this wisdom.)
What was this compelling nature study? It started with a little “special mommy/daughter time” for my four-year-old. My older girls were off to an activity together, so I took advantage of the hour alone with my little one. What did she want to do? Visit the pet store and go have ice cream.
At the pet store, we saw newborn hamsters. Brand new, as in, hairless little guys, eyes closed, bunched together in a bundle of nursing and sleeping. My daughter was enchanted. The sweet guy at the store lured the mommy hamster from her nest with a tempting sunflower seed, and my little girl got a great look at the tiny brood. She even saw that Momma Hamster was still trailing one nursling (still latched on) beneath her.
We left the pet store and got our ice cream (which somehow didn’t appeal to me in the arctic cold … I got a cappuccino instead) and then picked up “her girls,” as she calls her older sisters. They wanted to see the newborn hamsters, too, so we headed back to the store, where, unfortunately, they were now trying to keep people away from the babies, to give them some breathing room. One employee told us that the mother had shown signs of feeling threatened, and that when that happens, hamsters sometimes eat their young. My girls were horrified but fascinated. (Guess what they want to research today? The behavior of mother hamsters.)
We completed our “indoor nature study” with the purchase of a new hermit crab. My four-year-old immediately dubbed him “Mr. Shiny Shell” and my older girls immediately rechristened him “Mickey.” Today’s reading for my youngest daughter will almost certainly include Eric Carle’s A House for Hermit Crab.
If you’re in need of a little indoor nature study, simply take a look around your home. Pets can be a great starting point. What plants do you have in your home? How do you take care of them? Can the kids be responsible for them? And, as always, books to the rescue. Round up books about nature and spend a day in the great outdoors without donning your mittens.
And, instead of actually doing nature study when it’s so cold out, start planning ahead for some spring studies. Get your hands on some books about it, such as Clare Walker Leslie’s Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You. Look into ideas for nature walks and destinations for field trips. Because, although it feels like “The Long Winter” around here, I’m fairly certain spring will actually arrive one of these days.